Case Study: The Quest for Rational Faith
About the Client
Bill DeArmond is a college professor and self-published author. His prize-winning short fiction and poetry has been published in well-known magazines and collected into two books: Visions of Shadow and Light and Hail, Freedonia! and Other Tales. He has also written a book of political commentary called Serving Compassionate Conservatives: a Cookbook.
The Quest for Rational Faith: Common Beliefs Across Sacred Traditions is Dr. DeArmond’s most recent work. In it, he explores similar beliefs across several different religions in an effort to find common ground for an inclusive spirituality that transcends dogma. You can read a sample of the book and order your own copy from Lulu’s website.
The Challenge
A wrap-around view of the cover, showing both front and back (click to enlarge)
As with Bill’s previous book, the chief concern was creating a striking cover to stand out from the crowd. Market research by the publishing industry shows that readers place great emphasis on cover design when shopping, often making snap judgments based on what catches their eye.
An attractive exterior is nothing, of course, without an interior to match. Close attention to both aspects of the design was required.
The Solution
Cover Design
Strong symbolism helps the front cover make an impression (click to enlarge)
Bill had only one firm design requirement for the book’s cover: use symbols from various world religions to illustrate the book’s theme. With a little research I found appropriate symbols from the world’s five major religions—Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
To add visual impact to the front cover, I incorporated the central portion of Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam as a background for the book title. Famous throughout the world, the painting symbolizes the connection between God and humanity. The prominent placement of this striking image helps draw the eye of potential buyers.
Bill also requested that the cover look old and worn. I considered several ways to do this. A distressed leather-grain background might cause the book to be confused with the Bible at first glance, since the Bible is often bound in leather or faux-leather. A parchment background was another possibility, but this has been overdone to the point of cliché in recent years.
The book’s back cover (click to enlarge)
I ultimately chose to use weathered stone as the background for the cover. The “stone” was randomly generated with Photoshop CS2, giving it a naturalistically uneven appearance. Layer effects and textures make the text and symbols on the cover seem carved into the rock. The hands from Michelangelo’s famous painting were likewise adjusted to appear painted-on and partially weathered away.
The challenge of the book’s back cover was making the smaller text stand out against the stone background. I solved the problem by adding an inlaid marble slab to the back of the book. This provides a lighter backdrop for the back cover blurbs while maintaining the visual theme.
Interior Book Design
A sample page from the book (click to enlarge)
The book’s body copy is typeset in Adobe Garamond Premiere Pro. Garamond’s readability and dignified good looks have made it a classic typeface, well suited to the extended reading of a full-length book. Section and chapter titles use Fontin, a strong but approachable semi-serif font from Exljbris.
Project Summary
- Project Description
- A self-published book promoting inter-faith harmony and inclusive spirituality
- Completion Date
- February 28, 2007
- Services
- Graphic design (cover art, using Adobe Photoshop CS2 & InDesign CS2)
- Book design (layout and typography with InDesign CS2)